The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for providing shreds or shapes of cheese, and more particularly to the use of extrusion apparatus for forming a plurality of shreds or shapes of predetermined size.
Shredded cheese, or cheese in the form of elongated shreds or other shapes, is used in the preparation of various types of food. It may be preferable for certain markets that the shreds be of approximately uniform size and weight, and be on the order of one inch in length.
Cheese is generally manufactured in relatively large blocks and cut for sale into smaller blocks or chunks of shapes and sizes selected according to consumer preference. For example, cheese may be sold in cylindrical or rectangular shapes, or in sliced form. The cutting operation leaves a quantity of irregular pieces of cheese not suitable for consumer sale in desirably shaped forms. An ongoing goal in the cheese industry is to find commercially profitable uses for such pieces. The present invention relates to extrusion apparatus which is particularly suitable for forming irregular pieces of cheese into elongated shreds of predetermined dimensions.
In the past, attempts to produce shredded cheese by extrusion have not been entirely successful. One problem has been that variation in the rate of extrusion across the width of an extrusion die has caused lack of uniformity among the shreds. Another problem has been that working of the cheese during extrusion has caused maceration and oiling off. "Maceration" is a softening of the texture of the cheese due to a breakdown of the cheese structure. "Oiling off" is a separation of oil from the other constituents of the cheese. Both are undesirable and inhibit the formation of desired shreds.